1. Mario Claiborne has died, via Scotusblog. This is big news for judges, prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers around the country who have been waiting for the Supreme Court to decide United States v. Claiborne, which was to give us all more guidance on how sentencing hearings should be conducted post-Booker.
UPDATE -- the Supreme Court dismissed the case on June 4.
2. The DBR follows up on the Happy Meal comment to Bankruptcy Judge Laurel Myerson Isicoff that we covered earlier. Now that we are the DBR affiliate blog, we thought that we might get some props along with Abovethelaw, who broke the story...
The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Classic Miami posts
The boys over at Rakontur (Alfred Spellman and Billy Corbin) have started a series of posts titled Classic Miami. They are fun reading. Here's the latest re Jim Morrison. These are the guys who made the great documentary Cocaine Cowboys. If you want to watch a really interesting, well-done, and thought-provoking film, you have to check out Raw Deal, which is a documentary that Spellman and Corbin did on the "rape" case at the University of Florida. I highly highly recommend it.
Wilk jury out till next week!
I'm sure the prosecutors are not happy about this -- the Kenneth Wilk jury deliberated all day yesterday and then asked to be excused until next week because of various conflicts. They may very well convict, but the prosecutors must be asking themselves what is taking so long...
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Shaq sighting
So I was in the federal courthouse this morning when I saw Shaq in an elevator surrounded by a bunch of Marshals. Before I could get my card out, a court security officer told me that he was there to be sworn in as a deputy marshal... Here is a picture of him being sworn in as a police officer.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Weekend reading...
Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend.
The Wilk jury continues its deliberations tomorrow. The prosecution cannot be happy that they are still out and that they didn't come back quickly. The defense can't be happy that they were home over a long weekend where they would be pressured by family and friends to get it over with and convict. Ahhh, the stresses of having a jury out deliberating. There is nothing worse...
The Christian Science Monitor has been doing a very nice job covering the Padilla trial. Here's an article about the other two defendants in the case, Adham Hassoun and Kifah Jayyousi. And the article covers this fun exchange:
In testimony last week, FBI translator Majed Sam acknowledged that it was up to him to decide which conversations to translate. But he said he pursued no FBI agenda. "My goal is to translate everything in as accurate English as I can," he told the jury.
During cross-examination, Jayyousi defense lawyer Marshall Dore Louis asked Mr. Sam whether he was familiar with the American term "to cherry-pick."
"It means selecting what you want to select," Mr. Louis said.
Yes," Sam agreed.
At the conclusion of his cross-examination, Louis returned to that theme. He asked if Sam was familiar with other American terms: paint with a broad brush, stereotype, prejudice, bigotry.
Sam answered that he was familiar with each term.
The move appeared to be an effort to encourage the jury – made up of three African-Americans, four whites, and five Latinos – to closely scrutinize whether the government was using stereotypes and prejudice against Muslims to try to win convictions.
Later when the jury was excused for the day, Assistant US Attorney Russell Killinger complained to the judge about Louis's questions. "They were totally improper and uncalled for," he told US District Judge Marcia Cooke.
"I was a little surprised myself," the judge said.
Louis said he didn't mean to imply the translator was himself bigoted. His questions were intended to highlight the way the government is presenting its case.
"That's [an] argument" that can be presented later in the trial, the judge told Louis. "This witness didn't deserve those kinds of questions," she said.
Jeanne Baker, a lawyer for Hassoun, disagreed. "There is a right we have to advance our themes," she said.
Judge Cooke said the questions crossed the line into impermissible argument. "Everyone is on notice," she said.
The Wilk jury continues its deliberations tomorrow. The prosecution cannot be happy that they are still out and that they didn't come back quickly. The defense can't be happy that they were home over a long weekend where they would be pressured by family and friends to get it over with and convict. Ahhh, the stresses of having a jury out deliberating. There is nothing worse...
The Christian Science Monitor has been doing a very nice job covering the Padilla trial. Here's an article about the other two defendants in the case, Adham Hassoun and Kifah Jayyousi. And the article covers this fun exchange:
In testimony last week, FBI translator Majed Sam acknowledged that it was up to him to decide which conversations to translate. But he said he pursued no FBI agenda. "My goal is to translate everything in as accurate English as I can," he told the jury.
During cross-examination, Jayyousi defense lawyer Marshall Dore Louis asked Mr. Sam whether he was familiar with the American term "to cherry-pick."
"It means selecting what you want to select," Mr. Louis said.
Yes," Sam agreed.
At the conclusion of his cross-examination, Louis returned to that theme. He asked if Sam was familiar with other American terms: paint with a broad brush, stereotype, prejudice, bigotry.
Sam answered that he was familiar with each term.
The move appeared to be an effort to encourage the jury – made up of three African-Americans, four whites, and five Latinos – to closely scrutinize whether the government was using stereotypes and prejudice against Muslims to try to win convictions.
Later when the jury was excused for the day, Assistant US Attorney Russell Killinger complained to the judge about Louis's questions. "They were totally improper and uncalled for," he told US District Judge Marcia Cooke.
"I was a little surprised myself," the judge said.
Louis said he didn't mean to imply the translator was himself bigoted. His questions were intended to highlight the way the government is presenting its case.
"That's [an] argument" that can be presented later in the trial, the judge told Louis. "This witness didn't deserve those kinds of questions," she said.
Jeanne Baker, a lawyer for Hassoun, disagreed. "There is a right we have to advance our themes," she said.
Judge Cooke said the questions crossed the line into impermissible argument. "Everyone is on notice," she said.
Dore Louis has been no shrinking violet in this trial....
And here's the AP covering Judge Cooke, with only nice things to say of course...
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